I love a lot of things about New Who (and Classic Who too, don't get me wrong), but I've recently realized that there is one specific thing about New Who that is my absolute favorite thing about it:

The creators of New Who are Doctor Who fans.

Sounds simple, right? But oh, the implications! We would never, ever have gotten that marvelous "Night of the Doctor" prequel if Steven Moffat weren't a Doctor Who fan -- someone who grew up with the show as I did, and loves the show as only a fan can love it.

Finally got the chance to watch the Doctors Revisited special for the Sixth Doctor. It was fine -- nothing great, but nothing bad, either. Colin Baker, Nicola Bryant, and Bonnie Langford were all interviewed, plus Steven Moffat and other people. For the first time, David Tennant wasn't interviewed; I wonder if that's because he was too busy at the time of shooting, or because he didn't have much to say about the Sixth Doctor? (I suspect the former.)

Their chosen episode for Six was Vengeance on Varos, and I realized I'd never seen it! So I thoroughly enjoyed watching it. Also, it was again introduced by Steven Moffat, and I am starting to suspect that he is the one choosing which episodes to show. Regardless if it's him or not, the choices have been uniformly good, even if they haven't always been the ones I would personally choose. I was pleasantly surprised by V on V -- it was really an excellent episode, and Colin was in great form as the Doctor. I found myself really appreciating his physicality, and I loved one point in particular where he seemed to be purposefully imitating Peter Davison.

Only one more "regular" special left -- I wonder which episode they're going to show for Seven? And I wonder what sort of retrospective they'll do for Eight? Do they have the rights to broadcast the TVM? Will they bother to cover him at all?

BBCA's Fifth Doctor Revisited special is on my television right now, and for the first time, they have covered everyone -- Adric, Nyssa, Tegan, Turlough, and Peri have all made an appearance! Not only that, but Matthew, Sarah, Janet, Mark, and Nicola have all been interviewed! (And by the way, I would never have recognized Matthew Waterhouse, but he sounds exactly the same!)

After the sad and sometimes downright shameful companion omissions of past specials, it's nice to have everyone recognized and celebrated in this one. Peter Davison was also interviewed. I assume they'll continue with the Doctor interviews from now on -- hopefully everyone will agree to do it (can't wait to hear what Colin has to say!)

And now they're into the Fifth Doctor episode. And the chosen one? It's Earthshock! I guessed they would do Caves of Androzani, so I was wrong. I had to laugh, though, because in Steven Moffat's introduction to the episode, he made a point of talking about a surprise at the end -- but the surprise had already been given away in the special! With quotes from everyone, including Steven! So I guess the episode introductions get filmed at a different time than the retrospective interviews. I wonder if they're filmed first, or later? How far in advance does BBCA choose the episode? Do they know which one they're showing for the Sixth Doctor yet?

Anyway, on to watching Earthshock! I'm pleased, because for once it's an episode I haven't seen for ages, and I don't remember it that well. Although I do remember what happens at the end . . . ; )

ETA: And, now I remember why I haven't re-watched this episode in such a long time.

The "Doctors Revisited" Fourth Doctor special is on my TV right now, so here we go with a liveblog!

-- TOM BAKER!!!! They interviewed Tom Baker! HOORAY!!!!!!!!-- Steven Moffat is obviously a huge fan of the Fourth Doctor. He has good taste. : )-- And look what's coming up after the commercial break -- Sarah Jane! -- And, it's over. Not much time spent on her, but some very nice things were said. And apparently David Tennant tweaked the script for "School Reunion" so the Doctor would call her "Sarah," and not "Sarah Jane." The benefits of having a real fanboy play the Doctor!-- Look now, it's Louise Jamison! Awww. And John Leeson! Double awww.-- Okay, now they're into clips and "famous foes," etc. Zygons and Davros so far. The more I watch, the more I find myself smiling. The Fourth Doctor really is MY Doctor. He just looks so right on the screen. -- And ahhhhhh, it's over? IT'S OVER??? BUT . . . ROMANA! THEY DIDN'T COVER ROMANA! AT ALL!!!!!!!!! NOT EVEN ONE LITTLE CLIP!!!! WTH?????????????????

And yes, the Fourth Doctor episode is now on my TV, but I can't get too excited by that, because I own it. And have watched it many, many times. (No, it's not "Genesis of the Daleks," hooray! And yes, it is a Sarah Jane episode. "Pyramids of Mars," my prediction was correct! Although much as I love this one, I still would have chosen "City of Death" instead.)

And Hugh Bonneville??!! It's a little bizarre to have him talking about the Third Doctor, but I suppose that he too is of the correct age to have grown up watching those episodes.

And Richard Franklin!!!

Steven Moffat on "Spearhead from Space": "What was the plan, exactly? 'We're going to conquer the world by planting dummies in shop windows!'"

Aww, and Moffat is heaping praise on Nicholas Courtney and on Roger Delgado. Yes, I agree completely!!!

And of course everyone is also praising Jon Pertwee, which is only fair as this is his special. Now I wonder if they will actually interview Tom Baker in the Fourth Doctor special. Oooh, I hope they do!

Speaking of actors who are still alive, we don't have anything from Katy Manning yet. Perhaps they didn't include her. Bah. Well, maybe she wasn't available.

. . . and it just ended. No Katy. And nothing on Sarah Jane, although they did cover Liz Shaw and Jo Grant. That's a little disappointing, but I suspect they will do a lot on Sarah Jane for the Fourth Doctor special. Except they have a lot of companions to cover for him. But then maybe they'll do the same thing and leave Adric and Nyssa and Tegan for the Fifth Doctor?

Okay, on to watching (or rather, re-watching) "Spearhead from Space!" And here I thought they were going to choose "Terror of the Autons" as the Third Doctor episode to screen. Do I get partial credit for at least getting the invading force correct?

. . . is on my television right now! Hooray for part 2 of the BBCA retrospective!

It was preceded by a special on the Second Doctor that was pretty good. I especially liked the comments from David Tennant, Steven Moffat, Wendy Padbury, and Frazier Hines. (Frazier: "The Second Doctor is my favorite." Not surprising, but nice to hear it stated. *g*)

But my favorite part was when Moffat introduced Tomb of the Cybermen: "It doesn't really make sense, but then it's not the only Doctor Who episode you can say that about . . ." LOL!! ". . . Still, it's creepy, and it's atmospheric, and it's absolutely brilliant." You know, I think I could say exactly the same thing about The Pandorica Opens. :D

ETA: It's Bitey! The first time the Doctor encounters a cybermat! :D :D :D Okay, I am unreasonably fond of cybermats. Sorry, it's a thing. Carry on with the episode now.

So apparently BBC America will be showing "Tomb of the Cybermen" for their 2nd Doctor installment of "Doctors Revisited." Which is good, and another great choice after "The Aztecs" for the 1st Doctor, except for one tiny little detail: I've already seen both of those episodes!!!!!!! Okay, they're great episodes, and that's one of the reasons why I've seen them (also they, you know, exist, unlike some of the other choices), but how amazing would it be for BBCA to broadcast a Classic Who episode that I haven't already seen?

Of course, I am currently making that less likely by what's currently in my DVD player: "The Sea Devils," a 3rd Doctor episode that I haven't seen before. But BBCA is unlikely to choose that one for the 3rd Doctor anyway, right?

And I don't mean "on my TV" as in I'm playing a DVD, I mean it's actually being broadcast by BBC America! It's the First Doctor episode "The Aztecs." I've already seen it, but it's on my TV! In all its glorious black-and-whiteness! Also, there's a logo in the upper right-hand corner of a TARDIS and "50 years."

Hurrah!!!!!!!!

Are they going to broadcast one Classic Who episode for every Doctor? I saw something about a "Doctors revisited" special, but I assumed it was going to be another one of BBCA's frankly disappointing retrospective shows with clips and inane commentary. But an actual episode is a wonderful surprise!

Like a lot of people who are into fandom, I have all sorts of old shows on videotape and DVD, and sometimes I wonder why I keep everything because I can go for years without watching a given show. And then for some reason I get in the mood for it, and next thing I know I am marathoning an entire series. Which is what is happening right now with Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased).

So there I was watching this show again for the first time in ages, and then I came to the Doctor Who crossover episode and just had to stop and post here about it. It's not really a Doctor Who crossover episode, of course, but it was filmed in 1969 and has both Nicholas Courtney and Roger Delgado in it. It's a fun episode, and what's more, Nicholas Courtney plays a villain and Roger Delgado doesn't! The only thing that would make it better is if the two of them had a scene together, which unfortunately they don't. Or if Jon Pertwee and Katy Manning were also in it, and perhaps John Levene. But it's still a ton of fun, and when I watch it carefully and in slow motion, I'm sure I can spot the TARDIS in one of the closets. Except it's the Master's TARDIS, so it's camouflaged. : )

I'm a little surprised at how much this show has re-eaten my brain. In fact, I've pulled out an old unfinished fanfic and started to edit it a little, and I might even take a whack at finishing it. Not that many people want to read Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased) fanfic, but it would be nice to finish a WIP. I just never expected that if I got into the mood for writing again, it would be for this fandom.

I've been re-watching "Armageddon Factor," and I've realized that the first confrontation between the Doctor and the Shadow is one of my absolute favorite Doctor / villain confrontations out of the entire 50-year run of the show. It's certainly a prime example of the Doctor being Doctor-ish, and by "Doctor-ish," I mean acting in a way that would absolutely be recognized -- and celebrated -- by fans of both New Who and Classic Who. It's the Doctor's "core personality," if you will.

I looked for the confrontation on youtube, because I thought that someone out there must have uploaded it, and sure enough, I was right. Enjoy!

Passing on the word that there's a brand new re-watch comm about to start up for Classic Doctor Who! The comm is of_rassilon, and it's on Dreamwidth. The plan is to watch one serial per week, with discussion about the serial beginning every Sunday (Australian time) and lasting through the week until it's time for the next serial.

They're starting this Sunday with the very first episode of Doctor Who ever, "Unearthly Child," plus the other three episodes that make up that first serial ("The Cave of Skulls," "The Forest of Fear," and "The Firemaker" -- and I think one of the first topics of discussion ought to be just why they felt the need to individually name all the serial parts back then!)

If you're only on LiveJournal, you should still be able to participate with your LJ user name -- it shows up as "open ID" or something. (I hope no one has questions about that, though, as that's the sum total of what I know.)

Or if you'd like to join Dreamwidth, I have 8 invite codes to give away. Just leave a comment asking for one, and I'll PM it to you.